The Hindu : Front Page : Passport office set to open on September 14

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Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
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Passport office set to open on September 14

V.S. Palaniappan

Photo: K. Ananthan

Getting ready: A view of the Corporation shopping complex on Avanashi Road where the new Regional Passport Office will function. –

Coimbatore: A long wait willend and a cherished dream of the citizens of the region will become a reality when a Passport Office, the fourth one in the State, is inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here on September 14.

According to official sources, the authorities have started putting computers and other equipment into operational mode.

A 12,000-sq ft office has been readied on the first floor of the Corporation shopping complex opposite Dhandumariamman Temple on Avanashi Road. The premises are being taken on rent by the Ministry of External Affairs.

At present, passport applications from the region are filed either with the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Chennai or routed through the District Passport Cell (DPC).

The Chennai RPO is overburdened with a growing number of applications and this often leads to delay in the issue of passports.

Hence the decision to open a passport office in Coimbatore to cater to districts in western Tamil Nadu. Tiruchi and Madurai have their passport offices.

Regional Passport Officer, Chennai, Sumathi Ravichandran, and project director from the Ministry of External Affairs K.N. Sharma visited Coimbatore at regular intervals to get the construction and others works of the passport office expedited. The Coimbatore office will have jurisdiction over Coimbatore City, and the districts of Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Erode, Salem and Namakkal.

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